The subject matter disclosed herein relates to elevator systems suspended by belts.
Elevator systems utilize belts, for example, coated steel belts, operably connected to an elevator car, and driven by a motor to propel the elevator car along a hoistway. Coated steel belts in particular include a plurality of wires located at least partially within a jacket material, for example a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material. The plurality of wires is often arranged into one or more strands and the strands are then arranged into one or more cords. In an exemplary belt construction, a plurality of cords is typically arranged equally spaced within a jacket in a widthwise direction. The motor drives a sheave, in this case a traction sheave, over which the belt is routed. The belt gains traction at the traction sheave, such that rotation of the traction sheave consequently drives movement of the elevator car.
One of the characteristics of the jacket, which allows for smooth operation of the elevator system, and a desired amount of traction over the traction sheave is a surface roughness of the jacket material. Wear of the belt and jacket material over time alters the surface roughness of the jacket, smoothing the jacket surface, altering traction, noise and ride quality of the elevator system.